Seymour girls rain supreme

The conditions were far from perfect, but it did not bother Elle McDonald and her Seymour teammates. Picture: David Rak.

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With a Goulburn Valley League finals berth already in the bag, Seymour continued to fine tune its preparations ahead of September, pipping Shepparton by two goals at Kings Park on Saturday.

Wild weather meant it was a low scoring and particularly tight contest between the two finals contenders.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Seymour coach Elle McDonald said.

“Both teams are preparing for finals, so we were happy to get the two-goal win, especially in those conditions.”

After a six-goal win against Shepparton in round five, the Lions had first-hand knowledge of what it would take to beat last year's grand finalist for a second time.

But a fired up Bears outfit drew first blood, taking the opening quarter 11-8.

The Lions soon settled to win the second term and build a slim two-goal lead at the main break, before the Bears again struck to level scores at three-quarter-time.

But in true Lions spirit, the home team stuck it out to pinch a thriller.

While it was wet for most of the day, McDonald said there was some respite in the second quarter, before it turned for the worse in the second half.

It meant the Lions had to quickly adapt to the conditions.

“It slowed us down in attack and defence,” McDonald said.

“Our aim was to keep possessions when it was raining, treasure the ball and get it to our goalers.”

Nakita Singe was one of the Lions’ most valuable players, having been given the major task of slowing down Shepparton midcourter Jacinta Todd, while Meg Grbac was her usual best.

McDonald also credited Lions shooter Jess Lallo for producing confident shots and maintaining composure under heavy wind and rain, while Sarah Douglas, who usually plays centre and wing defence, showed her versatility by stepping into wing attack.

With the top six finalised with two home-and-away rounds remaining, Seymour will look to continue its final preparations with big clashes against Mooroopna and Kyabram.

“Mooroopna have done really well recently, so that’s another challenging game this weekend,” McDonald said.

“And considering we drew with Kyabram last time, we’re looking to improve on that and get the four points this time around.”

Pillar in defence: Meg Grbac gets a pass away.

Other results were:

B-GRADE

Seymour 48 def Shepp Bears 40

The opening quarter was tight until the Lions took a small lead just before the first break.

The Bears came out firing in the second quarter and took a six-goal lead before the Lions worked themselves back into the game.

Mariah Baumann shot beautifully with support from Lyndel O’Sullivan.

The defensive pressure through the midcourt created turnovers early in the third quarter and the Lions were able to convert them to goals with good transition and patience in wet conditions.

Grace O’Sullivan took control in the attacking half and fed the ball into the ring with precision.

Georgia Engel and Courtney Aldous applied the pressure in the defence end and forced the Bears to make errors.

It was a gutsy win after a one-goal loss in round five.

The Seymour Jewellers award went to Lucy Zotti and the Café 96 award went to Mariah Baumann.